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Even with the 2018 midterm elections still 18 months away, both Republicans and Democrats are making moves to strengthen their most vulnerable incumbents. One way they’re doing it: By contributing through their candidate committees and leadership PACs. Already, more than $3 million changed hands this way in the first three months of 2017 — nearly…

With division over immigration, the IRS scandal, government surveillance programs and a host of other issues, tensions have been running high in Congress. But tomorrow, Democrats and Republicans will suit up and do battle in a different setting. Here are our lineups for the moneyball version of the game.

The subject of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing today — a proposed assault weapons ban — is controversial enough. But casting another shadow on the conversation is the fact that members of the panel, who may vote on the proposal as early as Thursday, have received far more in campaign contributions from gun rights groups and individuals who are committed to the issue than they have from the other side. Since 2000, committee members have collected over $350,000 from gun rights groups and individuals, but just $17,000 from pro-gun control interests.

Labor unions finally show up on the list of inaugural donors, along with more big-name corporations and a sprinkling of celebrities. But once again, the Friday-night release of contributors is devoid of info to help viewers figure out who they are — details like hometown and employer. And the list doesn’t reveal how much each donor kicked in.

It would appear that Jeff Flake holds all the cards in his campaign to win Arizona’s open Senate seat. But despite having outraised his Democratic opponent, and having more outside spending going his way, Flake’s move to the other side of the Capitol is far from certain.

Although a variety of factors likely went into each senator’s decision to vote down the Ryan budget, interestingly, retirees — who often lean Republican in their political contributions, as OpenSecrets Blog has previously noted — are among the top donors to all four Republican senators who voted against the bill.

During the 2010 election cycle, 20 political action committees registered with the Federal Election Commission with the “Tea Party” moniker attached to their respective names, yet only a handful of these groups raised serious money, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of federal data.

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